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The Reykjavík Forestry Association will host its annual Forestry Games on Saturday, July 6, between one and five o‘clock.

Foresters will compete in various forestry sports, such as debranching, tree felling, axe throwing and more.

Various other activities will be on offer, for the entire family – whittling instructions, demonstrations of dyeing with plants, tree climbing, carving sculptures with a chainsaw and forging, a guided walk through the forest, axe throwing and a sorceress in a teepee!

Guests can also bake bread over an open fire and there will be refreshments on offer – a BBQ, kettle coffee and more.

The Forestry Games are on Instagram: skograektarfelagreykjavikur and on Facebook.

Líf í lundi (Life in the grove) is the heading for an outdoor recreation- and family day on June 22 in forests all over the country. This will be the second year this day is celebrated and its goal is to get the general public outside and enjoying the forests and all they have to offer.

The day is a collaboration of the key players in Icelandic forestry – forestry associations, the Iceland Forest Service and forest owners – in collaboration with other organisations.

More information on events on the day will be on the Skógargátt website (www.skogargatt.is) and the Líf í lundi Facebook-page  – https://www.facebook.com/lifilundi/

A new agreement on the Land Reclamation Forest project was signed on Monday, February 11. The agreement ensures the governments continued support for the project, whose aim is to re-establish forest and vegetation cover on sparsely vegetated land, in order to reclaim ecosystems, increase biological diversity and provide recreation opportunities for the general population.

Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, the Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and Jónatan Garðarsson, Chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association, signed the agreement, along with Árni Bragason, the director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, on behalf of the Iceland Forest Service, but the Soil Conservation Service and Forest Service will provide technical supervision of the project.

The Land Reclamation Forests project was launched in 1990, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Icelandic Forestry Association, as a collaboration of the forestry associations in Iceland, the Iceland Forest Service, the Soil Conservation Service and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The new agreement is in effect for the next five years and stipulates an annual contribution of 45-55 million ISK per year, or a total of 260 million ISK over the five years.

From left: Jónatan Garðarsson, Chairman of the Icelandic Forestry Association, Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, of the Iceland Forest Service, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and Árni Bragason, director of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, at the signing (Photo: BJ).

In honour of the International Day of Forests on March 21 the Icelandic Forestry Association, in collaboration with the Hafnarfjörður Forestry Association and the Reykjavík Botanical Garden, will host an education event focused on identifying trees in winter, but trees and shrubs are in their „winter form“ for a large part of the year in Iceland.

Steinar Björgvinsson, general manager of the Hafnarfjörður Forestry Association, will lead a walk through the Reykjavík Botanical Garden, starting at 18:00 at the Garden‘s main entrance.

Everybody welcome!

The Icelandic Forestry Association wishes everyone a Happy New Year!

Special thanks to all the forestry associations in Iceland – and all our other friends, partners and supporters – for their cooperation this past year.